At campaign launch, Kahlon dismisses poor poll results, political newcomers

Finance Minister Moshe Kahlon kicked off his Kulanu party’s election campaign Wednesday, touting his years of experience as a lawmaker and dismissing recent poor polling results.

Speaking to a crowd of supporters in the coastal city of Ashkelon, Kahlon decried what he said was outsized attention on criminal investigations involving Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ahead of the April 9 vote and vowed to focus on pocketbook issues.

“In the upcoming elections, everyone is trying to make them about cases 1000, 2000 and 4000,” he said, referring to a series of corruption probes that police have recommended Netanyahu be tried over.

“But in the upcoming elections we are talking about a case of NIS 5,300 ($1,445) minimum wage,” Kahlon said, adding he would work to boost benefits for senior citizens and soldiers.

Kahlon has signaled he would join a Netanyahu-led coalition following elections, but has said he would leave the coalition if the prime minister were to be indicted.

With polls currently giving Kulanu 4-5 seats, down from its current 10, Kahlon said he was not looking to join forces with any other party and dismissed the results of recent surveys.

“What they are trying to do now they tried to do to us four years ago and they are doing this in order that we’ll join another party,” he said. “I’m not looking for tie-ups.”

In an apparent dig at political newcomer Benny Gantz, a former IDF chief of staff who has emerged as Netanyahu’s main challenger, Kahlon said he was not looking for “stars” to join Kulanu and said “there are no shortcuts” in politics.

“Whoever wants to be a social leader must have empathy, not because they told you as a kid you would be prime minister. There are no shortcuts, definitely not in politics,” he said.

“We have a task, to prove the polls wrong again,” he added.